A Fool's Mate
by SleepySaur
Summary: Hilda teaches Ravio a favorite game from her childhood.


**A Fool's Mate**

Ravio stared down at the wooden board Hilda had placed before him. Sheerow fluttered beside him, also looking at it curiously. The wood was worn, making the squares on it difficult to see. The pieces that came with it had chipped paint. When they were children Hilda had said this board was made shortly after the Triforce was destroyed, before its full effects were realized. He'd never known exactly what to do with it, though Hilda had mentioned it was a game she would play with her mother.

"Hilda," he asked, "why did you get this old thing out? Are you finally taking that break I've been telling you to have ever since our Triforce came back?"

"I suppose I am," Hilda said as she started setting up the wooden figures. "However, I do not wish to be completely idle. I intend for us to sharpen our minds through chess, an ancient game of strategy and wits."

Ravio fidgeted uncomfortably. Sheerow mirrored his movements with a nervous warble. "Er, Princess, I'm afraid I don't have a clue how to play. Or much in the way of wits."

"Do not worry, Ravio." Hilda gently smiled. "We can start by discussing the basics, then you can learn as we play. I am sure that, in time, you will be capable enough to pose a challenge."

"If you insist, Princess." Ravio still wasn't sure about this, but Hilda was _smiling_. If playing this game with him made her smile, it would be worth some embarrassment. Mind made up, he sat before the board and eyed it carefully. The figures came in two clear colors despite the chipped paint: black and a light purple. The black pieces were arranged in two rows on his side of the board, and the purple on Hilda's. They came in a variety of shapes, but they weren't all unique: the corner pieces looked the same, as did the horse pieces next to the corner pieces and the pointy pieces next to the horse pieces. And all the pieces in the inner rows were identical. "So how does this work?"

"The object of the game is to trap, or checkmate, your opponent's king," Hilda explained, lifting the 'king' from her side of the board. "In the process you will capture your opponent's pieces by moving your pieces onto their squares. Each piece moves in a specific way. If you are set to capture your opponent's king on your next turn, and the opponent has no moves that will allow escape, you have 'checkmated' the king and won the game."

"So the king is the big important fella, the guy you need to keep around no matter what?" Ravio poked his own king. "That makes sense. And all the other pieces are trying to protect him in their own ways. How do they move?"

Hilda picked up one of the corner pieces. "This is the rook. It can move in a straight line along rows or columns, like so." She demonstrated the simple movement along the center of the board before replacing it and picking up a pointy piece. "This is the bishop. It moves in straight lines along diagonals."

"So rooks go up, down, and across, and bishops go like…" Ravio moved his finger through the air in an X shape.

"Yes, that is correct."

Ravio gave a small whoop. "Ha! This game isn't too hard after all, eh Sheerow? And here I thought I would be too dumb for one of Hilda's smart games!" Sheerow flipped in the air and gave a chirp of agreement.

"Most of these are a bit harder to remember, I'm afraid," Hilda told him. She picked up the horse and moved it to the center of the board. "The knight moves two squares across and one up or down, or one square over and two squares up and down. So from here, my knight can move to one of these squares." She pointed to eight spaces, two of which were over his small identical row pieces. "The knight is also the only piece capable of jumping over other pieces."

"Wait, the rook and bishop can't do that?"

"No. Did I not mention it?"

"N-no, Princess. You didn't." Ravio glanced at the board again. "You know, that one is kinda confusing. Why can't knights just charge across the board to defend their king? Why do they have to move in such a weird way?"

Hilda shook her head. "It is just the way the game is played, Ravio. Now, the pawn." She picked up one of the small pieces. "The pawn can only move forward, and only one square at a time, except on an individual pawn's first move. If it is its first move, the pawn may move two squares. It also captures opposing pieces in a different way than its regular movements. Pawns capture by moving to one square diagonally in front of them."

"Whoa, whoa, wait, hold up!" Ravio cried. "That's complicated! Why does it have so many ways of moving? And why only one space at a time? And only forward! What if it's in trouble? Then there's nothing it can do but stay there and take it, that's what!" Sheerow flapped his wings frantically as Ravio continued his rant.

"The pawn _is_ the weakest piece, Ravio. That is why you get so many of them. They are easy to sacrifice."

"But…" Ravio started to say before pouting. "I don't want to lose a bunch of pieces. Saying you're sacrificing them just sounds wrong. I don't like it."

"I'm afraid that's part of the game." Hilda gestured to the last two pieces. "The queen moves like a combined rook and bishop. She can move along rows, columns, and diagonals. The king is similar, but he can only move one space at a time. So do you understand all the pieces?"

Ravio nodded slowly. "I think so. Sounds like that queen is strong, huh?"

"Yes, she is the most powerful piece in the game. She must be used carefully, else you may accidentally lose her and put yourself in a disadvantageous situation."

"I'll say," Ravio muttered as he glanced over the piece. "You know, not much of a surprise that the queen is the most powerful piece. I'd hate to get on her bad side."

"Yes, well." Hilda looked over him carefully, the ghost of another smile making her lips twitch. "Strong as she may be, I am sure she has her weak points."

"Weak points? You'd have to completely outnumber her to have chance of taking her down, I bet. She's really important. That king, he seems useless by comparison. Funny how it's the king whose loss makes you lose the game. Looks like the queen could handle herself just fine without him."

"It's a game, Ravio."

"A game meant to show two armies against each other, right?" Ravio shook his head. "Armies representing a kingdom. Her kingdom probably needs her more than some king who can barely do anything."

"Ravio—"

"I mean, look at what she can do!" Ravio grabbed his queen and started gesticulating. Sheerow squawked in alarm and ducked as Ravio's hand came dangerously close to his head. "She's powerful, and she must have learned all her cool moves from somewhere so she must be smart, too! Why in the world would she lose if she was still around after the king was beaten? She could rule just fine—"

" _Ravio!_ " Hilda shouted. Startled, Ravio stopped waving his arms and shut his mouth. Hilda sighed before walking over and gently taking his hand.

"Perhaps, Ravio, you are underestimating the king's worth. I imagine the queen has great need of her king in order to properly run the kingdom."

"Eh?" Ravio blinked and stared at Hilda blankly. "What do you mean? I don't see how she _needs_ him. He can't do much, only moving one space at a time."

"Do not be ridiculous, Ravio." Hilda shook her head. "Perhaps the king is in charge of the strategy. Perhaps, despite his deficiencies on the field, he is able to see the entire situation and plan accordingly, making best use of his army. Or perhaps he is not effective in a war at all, but he can rule his people with a fair and just hand and he feels obligated to be present when a foreign threat appears. Or perhaps…" Hilda stopped, looked Ravio in the eyes, and gave his hand a squeeze. "Perhaps the queen is the chief power after all, but she needs her king to keep her grounded. A king to remind her to not blindly make needless sacrifices, to watch her and stop her from becoming a monster as bad as the darkness she faces. A strong queen is nothing if she does not know how to be responsible with the power she wields. Her king can prevent her from committing a terrible atrocity she would regret for the rest of her life."

"Uh…" Ravio felt his cheeks flushing, though for the life of him he couldn't understand why. "So, uh, it's only a game. Got it. Is there more about it you wanna tell me?"

Hilda quickly broke away and returned to her side of the table. "Oh. Yes. We should begin. The violet side moves first, so I will take my turn. Typically players begin by trying to control the center squares, giving them more control over the board as a whole. Often they'll use the pawn in front of their king to accomplish this, though my mother did like using the queen's pawn first…"


End file.
